It is generally known to transport and/or store products. Products to be transported and/or stored typically are packed within a box or other container. However, in most instances, the shape of the product does not match the shape of the container. Most containers utilized for transporting products have the general shape of a square or rectangular box and, of course, products can be any shape or size. To fit a product within a container and to safely transport and/or store the product without damage to the product, the void space within the container is typically filled with a packing or cushioning material.
The packing material utilized to fill void space within a container is typically a lightweight, air-filled material that may act as a pillow or cushion to protect the product within the container. In many circumstances, a plastic bubble material is utilized to protect and cushion the product contained within a container. However, plastic bubble material, and the process for making the plastic bubble material, can be expensive and time-consuming to produce. In addition, plastic bubble material is not adequate form-filling material in many instances, requiring specially made shapes and/or bubble patterns to effectively protect and cushion a product within a container during transport and/or storage. Plastic bubble material is also not “environmentally friendly” in that these materials are not readily biodegradable when exposed to the environment.
Small Styrofoam nuggets or “peanuts” may also be utilized to fill void space within containers for protecting and cushioning a product within a container during transport and/or storage. These nuggets or “peanuts” are also expensive to produce, and may not adequately protect a product unless a great number are used within the container to entirely fill the void space within the container. In addition, it is also difficult to contain the Styrofoam nuggets or “peanuts” within the container, especially after the container has been opened. These materials are typically extremely lightweight, and can easily blow away if caught within a wind or draft. These materials may also cause environmental degradation, as they are not readily biodegradable.
Another typical material utilized for filling void space within containers, and for protecting and cushioning a product contained within the container, is paper and/or paper substrates. Typically, sheets of paper material may be crumpled so as to form long shapes having many folds or pleats. Lengths of crumpled paper may be created to easily and effectively fill void space within a container holding a product. Because the paper has fold spaces and/or pleats, the crumpled paper may be very effective at protecting and cushioning a product contained within the container, and may effectively prevent damage to the product during transport and/or storage.
Sheets of paper may be crumpled by hand, in that a person may take a length of a sheet of paper, and crumple the paper to form various shapes to fill void space within a container to protect and cushion a product contained therein. However, hand crumpling paper takes much time, and is not effective and/or efficient to provide a large amount of crumpled paper as may be needed in a production line. Machines, therefore, are necessary to crumple paper.
Typical machines utilized to crumple paper generally take a length of a sheet of paper, and feed the paper into a crumpling zone of the machine to provide a crumpled paper product. However, typical machines suffer from a host of problems. For example, long sheets of paper substrate material are typically provided on rolls and are fed into machines at a high rate of speed. It is difficult to control the rate of speed for the paper substrate to be removed from the roll. Without a braking mechanism, the roll unwinds at a higher rate of speed than the paper is being fed into the machine causing paper to spill off the roll. Typically, this occurs when the rate of paper being fed into the crumpling machine slows, and momentum causes the roll, which is heavy with paper, to continue rolling. A need exists, therefore, for a crumpling machine having an adequate braking mechanism to solve this problem.
In addition, typical braking mechanisms utilized for rolls of paper sheeting involve a system utilizing an axis bar that is disposed entirely through the core of a paper roll. A tensioned washer or disk is typically provided on either or both sides of the paper roll that may apply pressure to one or both of the side surfaces of the paper rolls to prevent the roll from spinning when the machine is not ready to receive paper, thereby preventing spillage of the paper off the roll. This braking mechanism, however, is typically extremely heavy and bulky, in that it requires a heavy metal axis bar that must then be dropped within arms to hold the paper roll in place. It is difficult to quickly and efficiently remove and add paper rolls to paper crumpling machines utilizing a braking mechanism as described above. A need exists, therefore, for a braking mechanism and paper roll-holding mechanism allowing for easy and efficient removal and replacement of paper rolls.
Moreover, typical machines utilized for crumpling paper do not adequately distribute load laterally across the paper from end to end. Frequently, long sheets of paper substrate may tear when being fed within the paper crumpling machine. Typically, this occurs due to tension applied to the edges of the paper sheet, which is typically the weakest part of the paper sheet. Small fissures or tears in the edges of the paper sheeting can become large tears, or tears that completely traverse the paper sheeting, when tension is applied to the edges of the paper sheeting. A need exists, therefore, for a paper sheeting guide that allows paper sheeting to be fed into a paper crumpling machine without causing unnecessary tears or rips in the paper sheeting.
In addition, tension may be unevenly distributed longitudinally causing problems during the crumpling process of the paper sheeting, especially through the feed mechanism. Uneven shapes or thicknesses of the crumpled paper, in addition to differences in paper feed rates, may cause slippage of the paper sheeting through the crumpling machines. A need exists, therefore, for a crumpling process and/or feed mechanism that automatically adjusts tension based on the shape, thickness and/or speed of the crumpled paper fed therethrough.
Typical crumpling machines utilize, generally, hard materials for feeding and/or crumpling paper fed therethrough. Specifically, metal cylinders, with or without teeth, may be utilized for feeding paper through the machine. The hardness of the feeding and/or crumpling mechanism may be directly responsible for lateral tears or rips of the paper sheeting, and may typically produce an abundance of noise during the paper crumpling process. In addition, metal, or other hard feeding and/or crumpling mechanisms, may not provide adequate traction for the paper sheeting fed therethrough. A need, therefore, exists for a feeding and/or crumpling mechanism made from relatively soft materials that may solve the problems associated with utilizing metal in the feeding and/or crumpling mechanisms.
Moreover, a paper crumpling machine should allow for the tearing of the crumpled paper when desired. Typically, a knife may be utilized to cut the crumpled paper such that individual lengths of crumpled paper may be produced. Typical knives utilized for cutting lengths of crumpled paper can be dangerous, especially since the blade can be exposed in an area of the crumpling machine that typically requires an individual to place his or her hands therein to pull paper therethrough for setting up or clearing a jam from the machine. A need exists, therefore, for a cutting mechanism that is safe and does not injure an individual that must place his or her hands in the machine to feed the paper therethrough.
In addition, a paper crumpling machine should also allow for efficient loading of the successfully crumpled paper into a container for storage or transport. The crumpled and cut paper should exit the crumpling machine with minimal or no buildup that could jam the machine. Typical paper crumpling machines that steer or manipulate the paper into a container as the paper is moving can cause the paper to backup and jam the apparatus, for example, by causing buildup of material near the drive rollers. A need exists, therefore, for a machine comprising an exit zone that efficiently moves crumpled and cut material away from the crumpling zone and cutting mechanism, and into a suitable container.